We need leaders to support our schools
Delegate Amanda Batten’s recent delivery of $1,600 in donuts to some WJCC schools during Teacher Appreciation Week raised eyebrows and left our community wondering just who it is that she really appreciates. She added a sticker to every box with her campaign information and paid for the donuts with campaign funds. And the schools that are no longer in her new voting district? They didn’t get any donuts, making this gesture seem like a political stunt aimed at her November re-election.
The real issue here, however, is not donuts, but Del. Batten’s history of not supporting our public schools. A bill she sponsored this past General Assembly session would have left a gap in the WJCC schools’ budget that no amount of donuts would fill. She co-patroned House Bill 1508 which would have provided public money for vouchers to private schools and slashed public school funding by more than a third. Fortunately, it died in committee. Had it passed, the impact on WJCC schools would have been devastating.
Even without Del. Batten’s proposal to gut our public schools, we already have some ground to make up, going all the way back to the 2008 recession. Some cuts that were necessary to balance the budget then have been restored, but school funding is still below the 2008 level adjusted for inflation.
When the legislature fails to adequately fund our schools, local government picks up whatever slack it can. The James City County Board of Supervisors put an extra $6 million in the school budget this year to help assure a 7% raise for our teachers and staff. This is far below the 10% raise that is truly needed to combat inflation and help us edge up toward the national average in teacher salaries or keep pace with the school districts around us.
You can tell a lot about a community and its leaders by the support we provide to our schools. If we want a bright future for Williamsburg-James City County Schools, we need strong leadership in Richmond.
When life gives you lemons, they tell you to make lemonade. I’m not sure how we make school funding out of donuts.
Jim Icenhour. James City County Board of Supervisors, Jamestown District
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‘Doughnut Gate’ was a ‘Nothing Burger’
The article about Del. Amanda Batten in the May 24 Gazette implies wrongdoing, yet states there is nothing wrong with distributing doughnuts to schools or how she chose to purchase them. In fact, it states that it is not unheard of for campaign funds used for similar purchases. Del. Batten has a history of active community involvement extending back years prior to her assuming office; this was not out of character for her to do in appreciation of teachers. The implication that it was a “political stunt” is unfortunate (and incorrect), and the premise itself is an excuse for her opponent to malign Batten’s good deed.
The fact is she took time to go to each school and personally deliver the doughnuts, and in each case, they were accepted as the goodwill gesture they were intended and consumed as well. But the Teachers Union and “anonymous group of teachers” addressed concerns about “Batten’s presence in the school district” and took issue with Batten’s voting record. Clearly, if her objective in bringing doughnuts was to influence voters, one of the least likely places would be to a group that is strongly opposed to her. This was intended to be a goodwill gesture. Anyone who chooses to can review her record as a delegate and use their judgement as to how to vote in the next election.
In the parlance of politics, this alleged “Doughnut Gate” was a big “Nothing Burger.”
Art Garrison, James City County
